MediaPost | Engage:Boomers

Aging Pet Owners, Aging Pets

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 10:00:05 -0400

Recently, we conducted a survey on pet owners among the women aged 45-65 who gather at our website and beyond. While we were not surprised to learn about this generation's disproportionately high spending in a $50 billion industry, we gained some new insights into the unique issues facing aging pet owners - and their aging pets.

Auto Industry Ageism Provides Lesson for All

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:00:04 -0400

I am a proud Boomer. As a generation, we got a lot of things right. Yet, after spending an afternoon reading MediaPost's "Engage: Gen Y" blog, I am envious of how Millennials, a generation composed primarily of 18-34 year-olds, view the role of consumerism.

Creating A Website/Online Business Plan

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 09:22:03 -0400

According to a Google/Nielsen Boomer Survey August 2010, 71% of Baby Boomers typically use the internet when making purchasing decisions. And, fifty percent 50% of them spend over $500 online annually. Creating your website to increase the satisfaction quotient and reduce the frustration quotient is essential. Your website is a key to success and creating a business website is no different than developing any business.

Lessons In E-tail: Amazon Adds 50+ To Wish List

Tue, 28 May 2013 09:20:03 -0400

Although people tend to reduce their use of health, beauty and personal care products with age, thank the Boomers for taking a proactive approach and bucking that trend. As a result, manufacturers and retailers are aggressively targeting them with a barrage of vitamins and dietary aids, exercise equipment, anti-aging skincare and hair care products entering the market. And where are they increasingly buying these and other age-specific products? Online, of course.

New Branding Rules

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:38:02 -0400

Once the poster child for optimism and categorized as the generation that boldly grasped opportunities, many Baby Boomers are feeling bruised and battered by the prolonged economic downturn and lack of governance, according to recent findings from our ongoing research initiative to help brands better understand their audiences. Many Boomers are frustrated as their belief in the future fades; at the same time they know they still have a lot left to contribute to society.

Media Buyers, Get To Know Them, And See Sales Soar

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:29:02 -0400

Baby Boomers, aged 48-66, hold 70% of the U.S. wealth. They drove the growth of Facebook and now mobile. They are online, they have life-changing needs and passions and money to spend. They have embraced technology and the Internet. They are spending 40 hours per month online.

Don't Launch Your Product On Facebook

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:30:04 -0400

We have recently been asking Boomer women how they travel the path to purchase new products, and their answers are surprising only because they don't point to the tools used by many marketers today. No matter how many "friends" and "followers" you have, Facebook and Twitter are not the place for activation. It turns out that a combination of peer reviews and coupons is the most effective way to get Boomers to buy your new product.

Should We Re-Write The Rules Of Market Research? - Part II

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:20:03 -0400

Emotions tell us how relevant a matter is to our needs. Reason alone cannot do this, says Damasio. Because emotions drive the purchase decision, as important as it is to understand what Baby Boomer and senior customers think, it's even more important to understand how they think before you develop traditional and online style, tone, images and messages.

Never Too Old For Sex (Education)

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:05:02 -0400

Blame the sexual revolution, but here's a newsflash: Boomers and seniors have sex. Go ahead, children of Boomers, cringe. But on a more serious note, it looks like too many are throwing caution to the wind when it comes to protection and attention to their sexual health.

Traveling And Reading

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00:03 -0400

Consumers ages 48 - 66 -- officially known as Baby Boomers in marketing speak -- love to travel. They have the resources to do sol. Baby Boomer consumers purchase 80% of the luxury travel and over 60% have their passports. There is a pent-up demand for travel from years of our recession.

Mirror, Mirror: Why Beauty Brands Are #1 Online

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:03:02 -0400

When we launched a website for Boomers in 2009, a surprising number of brands and agency people used to ask, "Are Boomers really using the Internet?" While the undeniable online activity of real people over 45 have silenced those concerns, a lot of other questions remain about how this online activity is related to their actual behavior as consumers.

Time For A Beauty Marketing Makeover

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:15:03 -0400

Justin Timberlake's new music video, "Mirrors," should be required viewing for beauty execs looking to make a real impact on their companies' bottom lines. It may just inspire them to rethink dated marketing plans that ignore Boomer and older women-who now make up more than 40% of the beauty consumer market.

Should We Re-Write The Rules Of Market Research? - Part I

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:12:02 -0400

In February 1998, the late David B. Wolfe wrote an article in the now defunct American Demographics magazine headlined, "What Your Customers Can't Say." The article challenged the assumption in most customer research that customers are the best sources about their motivations. "Consumers don't choose rationally, [so] any research that forces rational answers has to be flawed," wrote Wolfe. The article drew the largest response in the magazine's history.

Would You 'Like' Your Hospital?

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:31:27 -0400

We know all about the impact of social media and how Boomers are increasingly becoming active participants. Obviously, the CPG and technology markets have led the way, there's a proliferation of personal healthcare apps out there, and even the retirement living market is beginning to play catch-up. The hospital industry, on the other hand, has been the slowest to adopt this platform, with reasons ranging from HIPAA concerns to staffing issues to the difficulty of securing buy-in from staff physicians.

Searching For Less Stress And More Living

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 07:32:56 -0400

Born between 1946 and 1964, Baby Boomers are stylish, active and resourceful. They grew up with an active mindset that changed culture, music, art, civil rights, politics, media, sex and relationships. They are now ages 48-66 and are searching for less stress and more living. They may be an empty nester, married, divorced or a grandparent. They prefer less traffic, fewer taxes and more fresh air and exciting activities. They are going back to school, volunteering, exercising regularly and feeling younger then their driver's license IDs.

Does 'Boomer' Now Mean 'Old'?

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 06:13:49 -0400

For many years, I've been making the point that Boomers aren't as old as many marketers seem to think they are. The youngest Boomer is just turning 49, after all, and the "average" Boomer (born at the peak of the bubble) is only 55; they are a long way, in fact, from being old.

Marketing To Baby Boomer And Senior Customers - Part III

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 06:39:29 -0500

This is the final blog in a series providing traditional and online marketers' insights into securing and keeping baby Boomer and senior customers. A significant pitfall is to lump all boomer and older customers into the same group. The average Baby Boomer and senior customer doesn't exist. Behaviorists have discovered that no two people see anything exactly the same way. No view we have of anything can be fully congruent with anyone else's view because, like fingerprints, every brain is unique as are the five senses that connect us to the world outside our minds. However, there are stage-of-life values and motivators shared by us all.

Understanding Life Cycles Will Increase Sales

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:09:23 -0500

Baby Boomers are spending more time online each week, 15 hours vs. a teenager's 13 hours per week. Overall, digital advertising will receive an estimated 22% of marketer's overall marketing communication budget, according to eMarketer in 2012.

Restaurants Taking Orders Again

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 07:07:12 -0500

As recently mentioned on MediaPost, an industry report showed that younger generations are dining out less frequently, but their Boomer and Silent Generation parents and grandparents are apparently picking up the slack.

How Will Boomers Buy Hearing Aids?

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:19:59 -0500

For the last year or so, my interest in the Boomer marketplace and new products has gotten me thinking about the hearing aid market. It is hard to find a major consumer product category more in need of disruptive innovation.

Cupid Takes Aim At Hearts (And Wallets)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:52:45 -0500

Ah, the sacred traditions of Valentine's Day: flowers, candy hearts, and, if you're a Baby Boomer, perhaps romance after divorce.

Marketing To Baby Boomer And Senior Customers - Part II

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 07:26:12 -0500

In our last post, we shared some insights learned from more than 20 years of helping clients understand better the Baby Boomer and senior customer mind, and successfully secure and retain customers 48 years of age and older. The following provides traditional and online marketers' more insights into understanding better older customers.

Rebuilding Portfolios By Rebuilding Trust

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 05:43:34 -0500

Recently, the researchers at Financial Finesse provided some expectedly dismal statistics: Boomers aren't saving, Millennials are managing cautiously, and Gen Xers are still having a tough time. But there was one interesting nugget: The report pits some of the blame on the financial services industry for placing an unusually heavy emphasis on the analytics of planning and investing, rather than on a client's "life stage" - the thing that will most affect their attitude about money, saving and investing, not to mention the products and services they are able (or not able) to buy.

Women Are Buying Mobile Devices For Themselves, Their Adult Kids, Their Parents, Their Grandchildren ...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 06:54:26 -0500

If you were one of the 150,000 people who found themselves at this year's CES (the annual consumer electronics show), you probably didn't see too many women aged 45-60 among the industry leaders, Gen X salespeople, or Millennial geeks who filled Las Vegas last week.

Marketing To Baby Boomer And Senior Customers - Part I

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 08:19:38 -0500

For more than 20 years, we've been helping clients understand better the mind of Baby Boomer and senior customers (48 years of age and older) to successfully secure and retain them. And over that period we've learned a few things. Several years ago we published some of these insights, and we think they're worth sharing again. We'll reveal more in subsequent posts.

Big Thinking For Older Consumers in 2013: The Internet of Things

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:17:38 -0500

The Consumer Electronics Show opens Jan. 8 in Las Vegas. During the week, morning news will be filled with reports of the most PR-worthy and sometimes very strange new ideas and devices on display at this enormous trade event. While the novel item makes a cute story, the manufacturers, engineers and designers behind all of these products must care about an end-consumer, who will ask for the technology in the package they have created. Perhaps it's my bias in focusing on mature consumers, but I believe the most interesting products and ideas are part of the Digital Health Summit and the Silvers Summit.

A Puppy for Christmas? Becoming 'Pet Parents'

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 11:00:02 -0500

The image occurs in at least one commercial every holiday season: Children come running down the steps on Christmas morning to find that Santa has placed a furry little bundle of joy under the tree. Okay - we're talking to and about Boomers here, so let's fast forward a few years or decades.

Brain Health And Preserving Digital Assets

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:01:20 -0500

There are two firms that are making breakthroughs in important areas of Baby Boomers' lives. One is in brain health, and the other is in preserving historical family assets digitally. As a marketer, it is important to understand, connect and engage your target audience. These two companies are creating engaging campaigns, and understand how to connect emotionally with their Baby Boomer audience. Engaging photos are important and relevant but so is the copy. Below in quotes is the copy used to connect and tell a story.

Why Women Hate The Cosmetic Industry

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 07:33:15 -0500

A recent survey of women over 45 confirms what the cosmetic industry wishes weren't true: most of the gazillion dollars spent targeting the 40 million Boomer women in the U.S. are just making them mad.

Happiness: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:23:00 -0500

Baby Boomers continue to gain momentum as a consumer group while eroding the notion that targeting people age 50+ doesn't pay off. Increasingly, brands are seeing Boomer marketing efforts deliver meaningful ROI. In a recent survey conducted by the Online Publishers Association, a majority of ad agencies and marketers identified Boomers as a must-reach segment for brand-focused digital campaigns.